Love and Family
by Kitot
Summary: Takes place almost a year after Advent Children. A group of strange Space Pirates are causing mayham in the skies and seas of the planet. But are they the real cause for concern or is there something more dangerous coming?
1. 1

**Disclaimer**

**_I do not own any characters from the Final Fantasy Series. They are soley the property of Sony and Square Enix_**

_Love can not only create family, but destroy it as well.  
It can fill life full of hope or tear it down with one word of sadness.  
It can cross time and space and, maybe, even Death itself cannot keep it out._

The cargo ship trudged through the black waves mechanically, sending ripple upon ripple out from the centre and replacing the stars reflections with jittery moving waves of light.

The crew looked around cautiously every so often; some of them turning their eyes up to where the stars shone down while others glanced over the silent expanse of water. They were restless; they could feel that something was about to happen.

"Pirates!!" The call came from the main deck where a man threw down his binoculars and yelled down the com link. "Pirates dead ahead!!"

"Get those lights up!" A bearded middle aged man with glasses stepped into the decks and peered out the windows, "I want those bloody lights up now!"

One by one massive rigging lights burst into life, flooding the cargo ship with artificial light and dazzling some of the crew as they shielded their eyes from the glare. Shouts and cries of fear rang through the air as others saw the shadow of a lean fighter ship cruise past. It glided alongside the cargo ship before disappearing back into the gathering mist and a few bold enough leant over the edge to try and see where it had gone.

"It's not showing up on the radars Sir."

"They won't, they have some kind of shield that makes them invisible to us. Damn it!" The bearded man brought his fist down on the computer, making the screen shake for a moment before settling. "Find that blasted ship! Put out an SOS to the Patrol!"

The whole of the ship juddered suddenly along its length, making the crew in the main deck stop for a second. They listened with ears straining to catch any noticeable sound, but all there was were the creaks and clanks of the engine room and the ship itself. "Find me-"

The door to the main deck blew inwards with the force of the explosion, several crewmen getting thrown backwards as the rest scurried for cover. Cloud and smoke dissipated slightly to reveal a tall figure wrapped in a dark cloak, face partly obscured by a metal mask, the rest deep in shadow.

It walked swiftly into the room followed by another smaller figure dressed in the same way, both of them working methodically to haul up and tie the crew that were cowering under equipment and desks.

"P-please don't k-k-kill me....pleeeeeee-" A terrified man's plea was cut short as the smaller of the two knocked him unconscious, chucking him unceremoniously on top of another quivering person.

The head foreman tried to stare down the taller figure as he was pulled up by his collar but all he could see were dark holes of nothing. The pirate chuckled in a dry feminine voice. "There is no point feigning bravery, you stink of fear."

"What do you want with us?"

"At the moment, to be quiet." She pushed him backwards, making him trip over his already tied up colleagues and go crashing to the floor. There was a small sound, as if someone was speaking quietly a long way off. The figures nodded to each other and the taller left the deck, leaving the other to finish tying up the men before moving to the ships log.

"We're only a cargo ship, we hold nothing more than metal ore and ship parts."

"Your point being?" The other figure was also female but although the voice was softer, there was an underlying quality to it that filled the man with dread.

"We carry nothing of...any value to you pirates."

The figure ignored him, pouring through the log notes again until something seemed to catch her attention. "That's where we disagree. Captain," she added, talking to someone not in the room, "I've found it. In the cargo hold, starting from the third crate on the left."

The man frowned in confusion, "There's nothing in those crates but old shipping engines to be recycled."

"I think you need to recheck your logs." The figure moved to crouch in front of the man as he strained slightly against his bonds. If he was just able to get one hand free... "Sleep tight..."

She sent him down with a swift blow to the head, moving over the crew to leave the main deck. A monstrous shadow appeared to one side and she turned, seeing another of her group.

"We need to get moving." What sounded like an earthquake rumbled overhead as he hoisted the crates he was carrying into a more comfortable position.

"Right behind you." She trotted after him to where a sleek craft was hovering just above board and jumped inside, the doors closing seamlessly behind her without a sound.

"_Hold onto something, Patrol is here._"

"I wonder why it took them so long to turn up." She grabbed hold of the railing as the ship shot through the air, turning effortlessly and zipping away from the slower army vessels. Those in the air tried to give chase and a male voice came through her ears on the link.

"_You need us on the guns Captain?_"

"_No Dax, don't worry. They're not giving me much of a challenge. They'll be off our tails in a few seconds._" A chirpy female voice answered him as the ship darted and weaved through the night sky. "_Cal, help Bern with the crates and get me a full list of what we have._"

"Righto Captain." The woman said, following the big man down the corridor and clutching hold of the railings every so often. She had to admire Bern's balance; for such a large bloke he moved with grace and agility almost equal to her own.

He grunted as the crates thumped to the floor, removed his cloak and mask to reveal a heavily muscled green skinned body, dressed in ripped trousers. Scars were etched deep in the skin tissue, marking it look like tiger stripes. Most were a deep green but some shone and glistened when he moved, the metal surfaces catching the artificial light of the storage hold. "Thanks Bern."

The man turned round and grinned, pupil-less black eyes staring down at her through a thick mane of black hair. "No problems Cal." He lumbered off as she stripped away her cloak and mask too, lying them down on another box before moving forward to open the nearest crate.

The glowing orbs stared back at her, illuminating her face with soft light as she picked one up and looked at it. The other three crates proved the same; all carried a load of materia due to be transformed into energy supplies. "We hit pay dirt Captain you'll be happy to know. This will fetch quite a nice price."

"_And keep our little pests fed._"

"Them too." She grinned looking round as a querying rumble was heard from behind her. Two pairs of glowing eyes watched her from the shadows of the room, evolving into panther-type creatures as they moved into the light.

oOo

Kitots are very rare and therefore one of the most highly sort-after creatures on the planet. Cal could see their eyes widen as they took in the amount of orbs that lay nestled within the crates. "Don't even think about it, let me catalogue them first and then we'll see which ones you can have ok?" The dark grey cat pushed his head against her, nuzzling his way underneath her arm. "I mean it Drakes." She watched him as he snorted and then slouched over to join his brother; they were both nearly as dark as each other but she knew the difference. Both had markings on their flanks and back legs; Drakes were dark blue, almost black with a tinge of red mingling in with the fur on his hind legs. Tekken's were lighter and grey. The other, easier way to tell them apart was the fact that Drakes was missing an ear.

She turned back to root round the lid space, hoping to see if anyone had the sense to leave a list of what was in the boxes. Her prayers were answered when she found what she was looking for in the third lid; a complete rundown of all the materia present. She'd still have to check it but at least it made her job a little easier. She picked up an orb, her purple eyes scanning the surface to see what materia was lurking underneath. "Mys...ti...fy...hmm...this one's been used. One for you Tekken." She lobed the orb behind her and heard the snap of jaws as the Kitot caught it expertly. As she scanned each one in turn she found that nearly all of them had been used at one stage or another, and she wondered by what means Patrol had gotten hold of them.

"How you doing?" The doors opened to let in a slim dark skinned woman, her dark blue hair sleeked back into a ponytail and a long flared pirate jacket open to show the blue and yellow Lycra suit underneath.

"Nearly finished Captain, someone was nice enough to leave a list." Cal waved the clipboard at her and Piper laughed.

"How considerate of them."

"I don't think the foreman even realised what his cargo actually was tonight. He looked really confused."

Piper shrugged. "Can't be helped. There'll be loads of cargo ships that have no idea they're carrying materia and other smuggled goods back to the cities." She looked over to where the two Kitots were curled up together, their faces just visible behind draconian tails. "They give you much trouble?"

"No, they've been pretty quiet since I've thrown them a few. It's a good thing we found such a big haul, they haven't eaten in days."

"Remember to mark it up. They come first, whatever we have left over we sell."

"No problems Captain." She left her to it and walked through the corridor up the stairs until she could hear the sounds of chopping coming from the kitchen.

"What have you got planned for us then Tala?"

"Stew and dumplings Captain." The hybrid fox looked up at her with a sharp knife in both hands. Her silver fur was neat and glossy, the hairs picking up the light in the room and making her look like she was surrounded by a pale aura. The silks that hung down from her hips and around her arms swirled round her form when she moved back to chopping vegetables, the metal hooks of her pants just visible.

"Smells great." Piper grinned.

"Is Cal ok Captain? She seemed a little preoccupied tonight."

"She'll be fine Tala, don't worry. At the minute she's in her element surrounded by materia and those two pests of hers."

"I'm surprised she hasn't been mobbed already." She smiled showing sharp white teeth. "Any plans on where we're going next?"

"I'll have a look and see where the nearest city is. We'll land there and see if we can get a decent price on the rest of the materia."


	2. 2

Tifa looked up from washing glasses as the door to 7th Heaven slammed open, an older man with dirty blonde hair and goggles storming through before coming to a halt in front of her. "Have you seen this?"

A paper was thrown down on the bar. Her eyes widened as she took in the details. "Again?"

"Again! That's the fifth cargo ship in a month those bloody space pirates have looted from!"

"This was last night...It's close to here..." She reread the page and then looked at the man who was ruffling his hair in frustration, "Calm down Cid, they've been nowhere near you right?"

"I wouldn't know even if they were right behind my ship! They're so fast and so silent...I just wish Patrol would get their fingers out and do something for a change!"

"Here." She poured him a drink that he took gratefully as the door opened again, this time allowing a younger man with spiky blonde hair and dark clothes to enter. "Cloud, you're back!"

"I told Denzel I'd take him for a ride." He nodded to Cid who saluted him back.

"How's life hey Cloud?" He watched the man shrug and grinned, chucking him the paper which he caught one-handed. "Yet another ship plundered."

Cloud read the page silently, his eerie blue eyes frowning. "Did they take anything?"

"Doesn't say, though I heard from the foreman that the pirates made off with at least four crates." Cid scratched his head, "he said they were just old ship parts but when he went back to look at the log someone had altered it"

"Aren't cargo logs normally locked before the vessel goes out?"

"They sure are Tifa. These had been altered _before _the thing went out. Something dodgy is happening alright."

"Cloud!" A kid with a mop of brown hair ran into the bar followed by a dark haired girl with braids. "So, can we go? Alright!!" He yelled when Cloud nodded, punching the air. "Let me just get my coat!"

"I want to go too."

"Marlene you know how much this means to Denzel, besides, I'm sure we can do something fun here while we wait for them." Tifa smiled at her.

The girl sighed and looked at the ground. "Ok."

"I'll take you next time ok Marlene?"

"You promise?" she looked up at Cloud and beamed, "Ok then!"

"Ok I'm ready!"

"Are you staying for a while Cid?"

"I'll be around mate don't you worry." The Captain waved from his seat at the bar.

"Can we go into the outskirts Cloud, can we?" Denzel ran over to where an immense black and gold bike stood and turned back to view him.

"Let's see where it takes us." He said by way of an answer and got on, Denzel hopping on behind him as the engine roared into life. "Hold on."

oOo

The streets of Midgar blurred by as they moved through traffic and out into the main square, the amount of people and buildings starting to decrease the further out they went. As they passed into a rockier environment Cloud suddenly stopped, the bike's howl dying down to a purr.

"What is it Cloud?" He narrowed his eyes against the sun's glare and looked at an outcrop of rocks close to a ledge in the distance. There it was again; a glint as sunlight hit metal. Something was resting underneath the overhang but he hadn't brought his binoculars. "Cloud?"

"I'm not sure." He felt Denzel's hands on his shoulders as the boy leaned up on the seat to try and get a better look.

"Can we go look?"

"No, we're best getting back now." He ruffled the kid's hair, a ghost of a smile coming to his lips.

"It might be the pirate ship though."

"Pirate ship?"

"The one that's in all the newspapers. We could bring them in! We'd get a big reward for it!"

"It's too far out for today. Maybe tomorrow we can come back."

"It might be gone tomorrow though..." He pouted when Cloud sat back down and revved the engine, sitting back as the bike took off. He wanted to do something fun; it had been awhile since anything interesting had happened. Back when the GeoStigma had infected a lot of the kids, he'd been at the forefront in the events that followed. They'd been scary and at times terrifying but now, doing nothing was beginning to really bore him. He looked up again when Cloud slowed down, seeing they were back inside the city.

oOo

He didn't notice he was being examined until a snuffling noise made him turn. A cloaked figure was arms-length away from the bike, slightly hunched over with no features in sight at all. As he watched the figure moved a little closer.

"Aagh!" A long black muscled tongue had appeared from the depths of the hood, flicking around as if tasting the air before being drawn back in. Denzel flinched away from it as the figure drew a deep rattling breath, claws suddenly appearing to try and grab him. "Cloud!"

The man reversed the bike skilfully backwards, seeing the claws flail at nothing and then reached forward to grab the figure. His eyes widened in shock as the hood fell back to reveal a reptilian face; bright blue and yellow scales fanning out from dead looking dark eyes. Screams ran through the square as those closest to the creature saw its face and backed away, and he let go of the cloak as long slim claws shot out to rake his arm. The creature opened its mouth, letting out a scream of rage and showing dirty sharp fangs before snapping its head round to listen for something.

Suddenly it turned round, skittering through the crowd and disappearing amid the mass of people and vehicles. "Cloud!"

He blinked and looked back at Denzel. "Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah I'm fine but, what was that thing?"

"You guys ok?" A tall man with a bandana scarf tied round light blue hair ran up to them, hazel eyes checking them over swiftly. "Did that thing bite or scratch you at all?"

"No-"

"Good." He turned round and seemed to be talking to someone in his ear; a small metal object looking like a hands-free piece of equipment was attached just in front of his ear and when Denzel strained he swore he could hear a voice coming from that. "Hold on a minute Captain..." The man turned back to Denzel and there was a flash of light.

"What are you doing?"

"Just checking something out." The man waved them away with a grin, "Enjoy the rest of your day!"

"What was all that about?"

Cloud watched the man go. There was something not right about him but he wasn't sure what it was... "Cloud, can we go home now?"

"Yeah..." He shifted his bike and moved through the traffic, heading for the bar.

oOo

oOo

"What do you think Captain?"

"I'm not sure Dax. Without further tests I have no idea but the Genko have a highly advanced sense of smell and their eyesight is beyond perfect." She looked at the picture of the boy onscreen that Dax's link had taken. "We need to keep an eye on him."

"Should I tell Cal?"

"No, not yet. Not until we're certain."

The man rubbed his face, "I still can't believe one of _them_ were there, in plain sight!"

"They must have followed our plasma trails, damn it!" She thumped the console, making the holo-image jump slightly. "How stupid am I?"

"It's not your fault Captain; it was only a matter of time before they came back."

Piper shook her head as Tala's voice came through the link, "_I've tailed them to a bar; 7th Heaven. It seems this is where they stay._"

"How many are in there Tala?"

"_At the minute I'm registering five people Captain; three adults, two children._"

"That includes the boy and the spiky haired man." She tapped her fingers against her chin, wondering what to do next. "Stay close but be careful."

"_Yes Captain._"

"I don't think they'll try anything yet, that one saw me and made a run for it. I'm guessing it was just a scout."

"We can't take any chances though Dax and if this boy is who they think he is, he's in trouble."

oOo

Cal examined herself in the mirror critically, brushing away a fringe of dark red hair as it hovered over one eye. She was dressed in sandy coloured short shorts with a pirate-style short sleeved white shirt and a dark blue leather-type waistcoat. Knee-high laced boots completed the ensemble and she had to admit she looked pretty harmless.

The 12inch curved dagger that she had strapped to her right arm lessened that fact, as did its twin on her left leg.

A wolf whistle made her turn to see Dax lounging against her door in his usual attire of combats and a simple white vest with army boots. Dog tags hung from his chest.

"Just thinking if I should colour my hair again."

"I think you should keep it the way it is Red, looks pretty good to me."

"Why don't you chuck those trousers away?" He looked scandalised as she pointed to them.

"I like the faded look!"

"She grinned and turned back to the mirror, "Where's Tala?"

"She's off keeping watch at a place on Midgar. A Genko turned up and caused havoc."

"Was anyone hurt?" She turned round and Dax saw that she'd gone pale.

"Nah, nothing like that, but it was odd that it turned up in broad daylight in the middle of rush hour traffic."

"They're getting bolder."

"Yep." He looked up at the ceiling, "Captain says we'll wait for a few days and make sure they won't try anything else before moving off."

"Yeah, there's that cruise liner that's making its maiden voyage soon," She grinned wickedly, "and it wouldn't be right if we don't turn up and help lighten their pockets."

"My thoughts exactly Cal."

He left her to it as she went to the small cupboard that stood at the end of her bunk and reached round her neck to take off a gold locket. The tiny clasp opened to let her look at the small picture inside for a moment before she put it down. The soft glowing off-white materia sitting on the top cast a pale light over the necklace while she went to lie down on her bed, one hand over her eyes to shade them from the artificial lighting. Recently the nightmares hadn't been so bad; she'd even managed to sleep for a few nights but she'd still not managed to catch up on all she needed. The feelings weren't as strong either, that was the best thing.

Pressure on her bed suggested she had visitors and was proved right when Drake's scarred head came into view. She stroked his nose gently with a finger until he settled down alongside her with a yawn. Furry warmth around her legs told her that Tekken was curling up at the bottom of the bed and a small part of her laughed. There was hardly room for her on here, let alone two juvenile Kitots. When they were fully grown they would have to sleep in the pens near the storage room.

Her eyes started to close as their warmth and the soothing sounds of the ship washed over her, wrapping themselves round her body and lulling her into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Authors notes: **_Think I may need to read up on the editting modes on this thing, can't seem to edit anything on 'My Stories/EDIT'_


	3. 3

Days past without any other incidents and the residents of Midgar got on with their daily lives. The cruise liner was due for its first maiden voyage and masses of people turned up to see it take to the skies.

"This is going to be fun." Tifa took out the tickets and passed them to the guard who allowed them entry, "A day of complete relaxation."

"Beats working on oil rigs all day!" Marlene's father, Barrett grinned and turned to Cloud who was standing by the vast crystal glass wall that allowed people to view the scenery from above and below. "You with me there Spiky?"

He turned round and nodded, looking back to the view silently. He hadn't been able to shake the feeling that he was being watched ever since the incident with the strange creature. He was sure someone or something was stalking them and it made him feel tense, on edge. At least here the feeling had gone...he tried to let some of the tension slip from his shoulders as Denzel raced up.

"They have one massive TV upstairs in the main room, wanna come and see Marlene?"

"Yeah!" Barrett took her off his shoulders and they raced off.

"Be careful!" Tifa called after them.

"Hey Cid, how you doing?!" Barrett's roar echoed in the liner as the man ran up to them, punching him playfully on the arm and making him wince slightly.

"Take it easy mate, I gotta use this arm."

"You heard anything more Cid?" He turned to see Cloud watching him and shook his head.

"'Fraid not. They haven't attacked anything since, but I think they'll try their luck with this one."

"The liner?"

"But it's heavily guarded." Tifa had seen the amount of armed guards that had walked up the stairs, "Why would they try anything with so many guards?"

"Because it'll be loaded with treasure! Think about it Tifa, all Midgars finest are here, decked out in their jewels. This has to be the mother load of the year!"

"You got that right." Barrett agreed, stretching his shoulders.

"Cid's right, we need to stay focused in case something happens." Cloud muttered. The feeling was back. Something wasn't right.

oOo

The liner took off slowly, ploughing through the clouds until it broke through the top layers and sailed through them, like a ship on the water. Champagne and canapés were passed round the main deck as people started enjoying themselves and even Tifa took a glass to try.

"This liner is amazing..." Cid helped himself to another canapé and looked up at the chandelier that hung from inside the ballroom. "That thing must be half the size of the _Shera_!"

"Thank you for the tickets Cid, it was very considerate of you." He looked back to Tifa and winked,

"Not at all little lady, I needed some company on board here. I wasn't going to shrivel away with all these boring old-"

A clanking sound made him stop as a few people turned round to see what the problem was.

"Do not worry; it is nothing to be alarmed about." A crew member came forward with smiles, addressing everyone. "Please enjoy the rest of the flight."

"She seems nice..."

"Cid she's half your age!" Tifa scolded him lightly.

"_Greetings ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Shortly we will be giving a small lecture regarding the SHR13 cruise liner in the ballroom and would like you all to attend. Thank you very much_." The intercom buzzed over their heads as people started coming into the ballroom.

"There are a lot of people on here."

"It's one of the biggest liners in its class, decked out with the most advanced security and tech I've seen in a long time."

She looked sideways at him, "Not getting a little jealous are we?"

"Ha!" He waved Cloud and the rest of the gang over as they walked into the room. Tifa noticed Cloud stop as he walked past a steward and then motioned the others to keep going before turning back round again.

"What is it Cloud?" She whispered.

oOo

He moved back to where the steward was currently shutting the doors, talking to someone in his ear. There was something about him that was familiar...

"Excuse me..." He stopped when Dax turned his face round and smiled darkly.

"I'd settle down Sir, you don't want to miss the show."

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Dax smiled and pressed something on the wall. Suddenly the air between them was filled with a purple haze that crackled and hummed. "I wouldn't go near it if I were you."

"Space Pirate." The word came out of his mouth before he realised what he was saying but by the way the man smiled Cloud knew he'd got it right. He moved closer to the haze and felt his hair and collar start to move from the current pulsing through.

"I did warn you, these shields are extremely dangerous things when in the wrong hands."

"Cloud?"

"Stay back Tifa."

"What's going on?" Barrett muscled his way to the front and saw the haze, "What the heck is that?"

"Don't touch it Barrett!"

"This thing is a force field!"

"Yep." Dax said, clearly enjoying himself, "and it stretches all the way down the hall so there's no point in trying to find a weak spot."

By now a few of the passengers were beginning to wonder what was going on and some edged towards the field.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening! This is your Captain speaking_." A bubbly female voice sounded over the intercom, "_Please stay where you are, we have erected a personal force field for your comfort and protection. Please do not try and examine it for I fear you will become one with the life stream far before your time_." The doors opened to reveal Piper and a few people screamed.

"Oh my god!"

"Space Pirates!"

"They're here! They've taken over the ship!"

"That's impossible!"

"Believe me, it is entirely possible." Her eyes scanned the crowd, resting for a second longer on Denzel as he joined Cloud at the front before moving on. A few of the guards aimed at her and started shooting, their bullets being harmlessly absorbed into the haze. "By all means please waste your ammo; it only makes the field stronger by harnessing any expended energy."

"All available units, to the ballroom immediately!" The lead guard called desperately into his com link.

oOo

A commotion outside the doors got louder and louder. There were shouts and flashes of light from the release of bullets before the entire length of the ballroom by the doors was blown open. The remaining guards were thrown backwards into the room, followed by what looked like a silver fox standing up on its hind legs and,

"That's the crew member who told us everything was ok!" Tifa stared in disbelief.

"They'd managed to get onboard before we'd even set sail!" Cid murmured. He looked as if someone had smacked him in the mouth.

"Captain, all the guards have been immobilised and Bern is moving the treasure up from the vaults." Cal walked up, dressed once again in her normal attire and saluted Piper professionally which she silently thanked her for. Her crew were efficient and knew when to show off without her asking. Tala swayed to a standstill by one groaning guard that was on the floor, her black diamond sword hovering an inch away from his face.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." She commented lazily. Meanwhile Dax was showing off his uniform to Cal.

"What do ya think? Pretty swanky hey?"

"It's better than those combats you wear at any rate."

"Enough about the combats!"

A portly middle aged man moved forwards and glared at Piper. He was dressed richly in velvet and fine cloth, his fingers dripping with jewellery. "You have no right to hold us like this!"

She matched him stare for stare, raising her eyebrow when he swallowed and looked away. "Rights and rules don't apply to us."

"That's only because you can't be bothered to follow the laws!" A youth this time muttered. The pirates looked at him as he came closer to the barrier. "You're all the same; cowardly snivelling crooks who think you can do anything you want! And you," he pointed a quivering finger at Piper who regarded him coolly, "_Captain_, you're nothing but a gutless piece of trash to make these people do your-uuurk..."

His words ended in a gargled cry of pain as Cal reached through the field and grabbed him by the throat. "No one talks to the Captain like that." She hissed, pulling him through the barrier. Unlike her, his body stopped at the purple haze and the rest of her gang watched impassively as he buckled and jolted in the air, static crackling through the translucent field. Her arm glowed blue and the man's broken body flew through the air backwards, people screaming to get out of the way before he crashed against one of the giant pillars at the back of the ballroom.

Tifa swallowed as Marlene hid behind Barrett. She knew the man was dead; his limbs had gone limp before the pirate had pushed him through the air. Cal folded her arms and looked around at the cowering passengers, her purple eyes cold.

"Does anyone else wish to be a hero?" Dax grinned, tilting his head to one side. "No? I thought not."

"_Captain, the treasure has been moved to the ship._" They turned to look at their Captain as Bern's deep thunder rumbled in their ears.

"Good work Bern, meet us on there, we'll be leaving in a minute." The sound of static met them and Cal and Tala looked at each other as Piper frowned, "Bern?" Again, nothing but static silence. "Something's wrong."

"Shall I go and see where he is Captain?"

"Oh no Caluna, we need you to sssstay right where you are." The pirates tensed as they turned round, the soft serpentine voices reaching their ears. "We wouldn't want you to misssss the fun now, would we?"

"Genkos." Piper growled.

oOo

The hybrid reptiles slunk in closer, their heads swaying from side to side as they sniffed the air and forked black tongues lashed outwards over sharp fangs. A tall red-scaled male wearing loosely fitted trousers surveyed the scene with glee. "What are you doing here?"

"We have come for the boy Captain."

"What boy?" Cal asked frowning.

The red Genko turned to her and raised its upper lip into a grin. "Your ssson."


	4. 4

The world seemed to fall from under her feet as she stared at the reptile. There was a rushing sound in her ears that brought with it sounds of someone crying and she only just managed to hear Tala's hardened comment through the screams. "Her son is dead Genko; we know you've checked the records."

"The recordsss are falsssse."

"The boy is dead Genko." Piper stated, her eyes flicking to Cal. She looked frozen, her eyes staring at something just in front of the reptiles as they milled around. She needed to snap out of it soon though, they were starting to look restless and they were outnumbered. The Genkos always travelled in large groups; the only way to really stir them up was to kill the leader. They would stop and fight amongst themselves for hours trying to find another suitable candidate.

The leader blinked, a double lid moving side-to-side across his dead looking eyes. "Then we will take him anyway for tesssting, my ssscout isss adamant that he issss the one." They turned to see him pointing to Denzel and Cal frowned in confusion.

"What have you done with my crewman Genko?" Piper asked, trying to buy some time. Dax was weapon-less, leaving only herself and Tala. Another look at Cal made her see she was starting to snap out of the daze she'd been in.

The Genko snorted. "He issss sssafe Captain I assure you. He jusssst got in the way while we boarded." His eyes narrowed as he saw Cloud move in front of Denzel. "There isss not point trying to protect the boy, he will be coming with ussss!" He raised a hand and three Genkos swayed forward, running from side to side on their splayed limbs with claws raised to tear through the barrier.

oOo

A clash and two went down almost instantly in black smoke as Piper blinked. Cal had her back to the haze trying to push back the remaining lizard from trying to move through. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Dax moving away to get his weapon, Tala surging forward with her sword drawn to cut off the creatures following him.

Cloud pushed Denzel behind him as the Genko tried to reach through, his claws slicing the haze and leaving gash-marks in the field before they closed up. Cal shoved him backwards again, their arms locking in between them, a grunt of pain escaping her clenched teeth as the Genko ripped her arm. Its dead eyes suddenly bugged and it crumpled to the floor with a ragged hole through its chest, thick yellow liquid starting to ooze from the wound as she pulled back her right arm. The curved dagger-sword snapped back into place and she looked fiercely at the leader. From his position Cloud saw the green mist of Cure start to seep over her wounds, bringing the dripping blood back inside her body and closing the cuts up to nothing.

"Troopssss attack! Bring me the boy!" The leader screamed. The Genkos erupted on mass, swarming towards the barrier that the pirates were standing ready in front of. Passengers screamed and ducked for cover as pirate and reptile collided and Tifa found her fists clenching in anger. The space pirates were a deadly bunch of people she had never wanted to meet but the Genko reptiles seemed more dangerous. And they wanted Denzel for some reason.

"We could even the odds a little if they let us out." Barrett muttered. Cid crackled his knuckles and nodded. He was itching for a fight but the field was still up and he wasn't going to risk being barbequed for the sake of landing a punch.

"They seem to be doing alright on their own though." He mused and they had to agree. Not one of the Genkos had managed to slip through the pirates embrace.

Tala jumped lightly into the air, doing a slow back flip and dive bombed back down to earth, her sword blurring as it cut through the creatures below. She moved so quickly and easily; Cloud wondered if she was using Time to help her. He turned his attention to Cal who was still in front of them, watching the weapon on her arm flick out over her hand as she pulled the other from her side. Even she moved with a grace that was breathtaking to watch. She twirled round in a circle, sweeping through the press of reptiles and cutting them down with one stroke before sending a pulse of energy to where her Captain was fighting. The elemental blow sent them reeling into the air, disappearing in black smoke as Piper grinned and steadied her staff weapon against another rush of Genkos. This woman fought effectively and precisely, with just one blow laying her enemies down on the floor.

"That woman isn't normal..." He looked to see Cid shaking his head in wonder.

"This doesn't feel right!" Barrett smacked his hand against his cybernetic arm, "We should be fighting!"

"I doubt they would trust us Barrett." Tifa replied.

The Genko leader was shaking with fury. Dax had entered back into the fray with a battle cry; his scythe mowing down four Genko in one single motion. "I want that boy!!"

"_Captain..._" Piper looked over as Cal's urgent query came through her ears.

"Call them!"

Cal managed to push the things away from her long enough to put two fingers in her mouth. A shrill whistle pierced the air, moving up and down before fading away and the remaining Genkos suddenly grouped together.

"Don't jussst sssstand there! Get me that boy!!"

A few sidled to where Tala was standing and then toppled over, others joining them in a heap. Faint snoring noises were heard from the pile and the leader screamed in fury, not seeing the dark blurs that melted into the corners again. "Assssleep? You're _assssleep_?!" He narrowed his eyes at Cal as she readied herself. "Fine! I'll get what I came here for Ssssummoner!" He cleared the space between them with one jump and her weapons flashed against his claws as they came together.

"You must be getting old Genko if you think he's the one."

"There isss nothing wrong with my sssenssess Caluna!"

"My son is dead!" She pushed him back and swung her blade; missing him by millimetres and blocking his attack with her other arm.

"Then you ssshouldn't be worried if we take him then!" He rushed forward, fangs bared to snap at her throat and growled with frustration as she jumped backwards through the force field. People scattered seeing the pirate come through to their side and Cloud frowned, one hand one Denzel's shoulder behind his back. "You can't essscape me Sssssummoner!" His claws raked through the haze as she waited. The leader tried again to come through the field and the current crackled round his claws before he stopped, his voice taking a creepy edge to it. "Why not sssave yourssself and jussst hand him over? It would make thingsss ssso much easssier for you. No more hiding in sssshadowssss, no more looking behind your back to sssee if we're following you..."

"_Cal..._"

"You'll never sssee usss again. Isssn't that what you want?"

"_Cal, don't listen to him._"

She looked behind to where Denzel stared at her, his blue eyes wide with shock.

"Sssso he isssn't your sssson. What doesss it matter to you?"

She turned back to him and moved closer, appearing to mull his words over. "You'll never follow us again?"

"Yesss."

"Let's shake on it then." Before the leader could move she twisted her weapon through his scaly hand and pulled it through the field. The static charge engulfed his body as he went rigid and a pungent burning smell stabbed through the air before he keeled over, the arm that her weapon had gone through dropping to the floor on her side of the field.

oOo

Piper raised her eyebrows as Cal stepped back through the barrier and grinned cheekily. "Well, you did give me an order Captain."

"That I did Pirate." Inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief. She'd thought Cal would have gone over the edge.

The Genkos remaining were in a motionless huddle though they wouldn't be like that for long. They didn't need to worry though; a monstrous shadow descended on them from behind, flattening them into nothing as what looked like a green giant stomped through the black mist that arose from the enemies. He came to a stop by Piper and saluted gruffly. "Glad to see you back on your feet Bern."

"They stunned me from behind." The man's black eyes seemed to glow with hatred, "They don't play fair."

"The mother ship is outside Captain, there are bound to be more Genkos waiting." Dax walked up with his scythe over his shoulders.

Piper nodded, "Ok, let's move out!"

"Aye aye Captain!" Four cries went through the air as the squad scarpered, leaving her to look back at the passengers as they watched her fearfully.

"What are you going to do to us?"

"Are there more of those things coming?"

"Are you going to leave us like this?"

"We are space pirates, not hooligans. We don't kill unless it's necessary." She pulled up her sleeve to show a slim hand and pressed the back of it with her fingers as if using a keypad. "The shield will come down in ten minutes, just sit tight until then. And you," she added to Cloud, "they will be back now they know he's here, and I don't just mean the liner. They'll stop at nothing to get him."

"Why him? Why are they trying to get Denzel?"

Piper's eyes were sad as she looked at Tifa. "Because I won't let them take my friend." She unhooked something small from her belt and chucked it through the barrier, Cloud catching it with one hand. "Keep him safe, and if you ever need anything..."

She walked out of the ballroom as the passengers started muttering and talking to each other. Cloud looked down at the device she'd thrown at him. It looked just like the link the pirates wore on their ears to talk to each other.

"Why would we need that for?" Barrett looked over his shoulder to look at the thing.

"I don't...I don't understand..." Cloud pocketed the link and put a hand on Denzel's shoulders. The poor boy was shaking.

"We'll sort this out. I promise."


	5. 5

"We've got company." She heard Dax mutter as she boarded the ship. "Four Patrol ships and _they're heading straight for us Captain._" His message finished in her ears as she walked into the main control room.

"I've got it covered Dax. Get to the guns, we may need them to get out of here but try not to injure the Patrol too much. It's the mother ship we need."

"_Yes Captain._"

The smaller vessel parted company with the liner as the army came in; swivelling round faster than any airship possible and zipping away before they'd managed to train their guns on it. It moved round the mother ship, weaving backwards and forwards across its line of sight. "I think you've got its attention Captain!" Dax yelled as the massive cruiser turned and headed straight for them. Smaller shapes came hurtling out of the sides and he grinned darkly. "Time for some fun."

"_Bet I can hit more than you Dax!_"

"You're on Red!"

"_Don't be serious, I can beat both of you with one hand behind my back _and_ my eyes closed._" Tala's dry comment filtered through the link as the sound of guns on her side blazed over.

"Them's fighting words Foxy!" Dax whooped as he spun in his chair, his gun following a small fighter and blasting it to pieces.

"_Can we keep our concentration please?_"

"Sorry Captain!"

"_Will do Captain._"

"_Captain, one of the Patrol is trying to hail us._"

"_Put him through Bern; let's see what they have to say._"

"This is Commander Taggart. You will cease and hand yourselves in without delay." The bust of a man in his early fifties came up on screen, greying hair clipped neatly and smartly dressed.

"_Sorry Commander but, as you can see we are having a little difficulty obeying that order at the moment._"

"You are breaching both land and air regulations; therefore it is my duty to bring you in."

"_Is this guy for real?_" Cal muttered.

"_Commander, feel free to join in and lend a hand if ever you want to. Unfortunately I can't suddenly stop and let my ship be blown to pieces by these reptiles._"

"You leave me no choice then." The ship lurched slightly as Bern cut the link off.

"_They're firing at us Captain!_"

"Of all the pig headed, insane, dim-witted..." Dax ran out of useless things to call Patrol as another shot just missed his window.

"_I've got a lock on their weapons Captain._" Cal fired her gun at the army ship and hit the side expertly, watching the ship turn to try and make an emergency landing on the liner. Bern pressed a few buttons to activate the canons at the front of the ship now that the mother ship was directly in front of them. Pulses of energy shot through the vessel, eventually tearing it to pieces. The explosion sent a shock wave searing through the air, making the ship rock back and forth before steadying and swooping off though the clouds.

oOo

They met up on the main decks once they had enough cloud cover. Piper looked away from the view to see Cal walk in and stand next to her, arms folded as she looked outwards.

"It's not possible Captain." She began before the android could speak.

"We need to find out though. If he is the one the Genkos will be after them all, they'll think they're easier targets." Dax stated.

"I doubt that." Bern's rumble made them all turn around. Tala had accessed one of the main screens and had patched into the liners log books.

"This is the main log where all the passengers had their pictures taken before boarding." Tala said as her nimble fingers moved over the holo-keyboard. One after another, photos swept past their visions, stopping on the face of Cloud Strife.

"He's an ex-SOLIDER."

"That explains those weird eyes." Dax murmured as Bern looked back at the screen. "Wait a minute, weren't SOLIDER part of some experiment a while back?"

"It was when the calamity came to the planet; the soldiers were injected with Jenova cells. Then last year three remnants appeared looking for Jenova's head."

"You mean there are still pieces of that..._thing_ still around Bern?" Cal looked up shocked.

"Yes, but no one knows where they are. Shinra are scouring the whole of the planet to try and find them."

"Molly's having a fit already because Reno is mixed up with them." Cal shook her head, "He nearly got killed last time."

"Looks like the rest of the group Strife's with are pretty tough too." Tala flicked through the images of Tifa, Barrett and Cid and then brought up another screen. "Reno was right; their little band was the ones that took out Sephiroth last year."

Cal's eyes rested on the last image Tala had brought up on the liner's logs. Now she had a chance to look at the face more intimately she could see why they came to the assumption they did.

"They still might not be a match for the Genkos." Piper came to her shoulder, "They don't know how they fight..."

"The Genko have to be wrong on this Captain, I couldn't sense any summoning ability from him at all." Cal muttered.

"There's only one way to find out." She murmured. "If it comes back negative then we show the Genkos and they should live him alone."

oOo

oOo

Cloud looked at the comlink the Captain had thrown to him before leaving the liner. They were back at Tifa's 7th Heaven and the daylight was starting to fade.

"Do you think it's a good idea to keep that thing?" He looked at Barrett who was sitting down by the bar, "They could be tracking us."

"I think they already know where we are." He remembered the feeling of being watched and passed it to a tall man clothed in red. "What do you make of this Vincent?"

The man took it and golden eyes intently examined the thing. "It's very advanced. It seems to be solely used for communication though."

"It could still have a tracking system."

"Barrett's right, we have no idea what that thing can do." Tifa put her hands on her hips.

"Pirates are an untrustworthy bunch but they always keep their word." Cid chugged the remains of his beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "And if what they're jabbering on about is true, then I'm afraid we're in their little war whether we like it or not."

"Denzel's parents came from Sector Seven before the meteor." Vincent passed the link back to Cloud as Tifa murmured, refilling Cid's glass. "Why would those lizards think that she was his mother?"

Cloud turned to Cid. "Do you know where they come from?"

"'Fraid not. But with a ship that fast and the differences in the crew, I wouldn't laugh if they really were space pirates."

oOo

Denzel listened to the conversation from behind the closed door of the bar, his blue eyes frowning. He still didn't understand why those reptiles wanted him so much, but it had something to do with the woman with red hair.

Did he look like her son? Her expression had been so confused when she'd turned to see him; he figured she didn't know him at all, though the reptiles seem to think she did...

"Denzel?" He turned away from Marlene as she walked in, seeing him sitting on the bed. "What do you think is happening?"

"I don't know Marlene." He turned to his nightstand where a few pictures stood in their frames. One was of his mother and father with him, all smiling, all so happy. "I don't think those creatures are going to give up easily though."

"They were freaky." She shivered and sat on her bed watching him as a determined expression crossed her face. "But we'll sort them out right?"

"Right!"

oOo

oOo

Dax found her sitting on her bed staring at the picture in her locket. When he coughed she snapped it shut, looking up at him defiantly and he tried to make his expression as gentle as he could. "She have any advice for you?"

"No." She murmured, putting the necklace back underneath her shirt and sighing. Unlike the others, Dax understood everything she was going through. It had taken them three long, hard years to not only win her trust, but also mend her heart and soul.

Within that time he had taught her to fight and all the anger and terror she'd felt had come out on that first training session. She had been an excellent student, though Dax was always wary of her emotions. There was going to be a point when she wouldn't be able to come back over the edge she was trailing.

He moved past the porthole where the moon was shining through and sat down next to her, putting a hand on her own that were clenched on her lap. "You went to see her didn't you?"

"The church is still standing after all that has happened." She managed a weak smile, "It just feels...safe there."

"He's not your son Cal."

She closed her eyes and nodded, "I know. He does look like her though." She grinned again, the smile fading. "To know for certain if he has the capability, the Captain will have to test him won't she?"

"I'm afraid so." He shook his head. "When the Genko latch onto something it's hard to pull them away from it."

"_Guys, we have an SOS from The Edge. The Genko are there!_" Piper's urgent call through the link made them both jump up, Dax grabbing her shoulders as she went to go out of the room.

"Are you up for this Red?"

"I'll be fine _Mellon_, honestly. I can handle this."

"Good girl." He cupped her cheek, the now familiar glint of competition coming back into his eyes, "Will be interesting having pirates get called to an SOS instead of causing one hey?"

oOo

oOo

Tifa pummelled a blue scaled creature as it tried to attack her, sending it through the earth and tensing ready as three more ran forward.

"_Don't let them bite you,_" Piper's advice came through the link on Cloud's ear while he dispatched a group of them, "_they secrete venom in their saliva that can paralyse your system._" He ducked razor sharp claws and swung his sword round, the enemy falling to the ground in pieces before disappearing in a black cloud.

"This is more like it!" Barrett roared with his canon blazing round. They were outside the bar with the children upstairs. There had been no warning before the attack; the Genko moved silently and suddenly the doors had burst open to reveal a tidal wave of reptiles. They'd managed to protect the stairwell and had eventually forced them outside where they were now facing what looked a whole army of creatures.

Vincent danced and jumped through the horde, his bullets hitting every single one on target before reloading and landing on the roof of the bar for better shots. He looked up as two dark blurs flashed past him and into the melee, the tide of Genko suddenly bunching up and back as the dark things herded them into smaller groups.

A girl landed on the roof lightly next to him, purple eyes staring harshly before raising her left hand. The power of the materia nearly forced his feet from under him as it lashed through the reptiles, dozens of them falling to the energy. A man landed next to her as something crash landed on the ground in front of the bar, the dust fading to reveal a monster of a man scarred across his chest and back. He bellowed and pressed his hands to the ground, the orbs glowing in his arms as he pushed the energy downwards. The blast from the Earth materia pulsed towards the oncoming Genko, flying bits of ground and shrapnel bombarding their bodies and tossing them into the air like puppets.

"_Cal, the cars are coming down._" She looked up to see the ship above them with something big coming through the air. The jeep landed jerkily on the ground as Dax dived into the front seat, gunning the engine and swivelling it round.

"Get in!" He yelled.

"The children are upstairs!" Tifa yelled back, her face panic-stricken. She turned round as a whistle came through the air, seeing two dark blurs scale the building where the woman was standing and go through the window.

"The kids will be fine, get in!"

Cal and Vincent jumped off the roof as the sound of breaking glass shattered, bringing with it Denzel and Marlene. The dark creatures landed gently on the ground and sprang to the jeep, dumping the children by the car before running off to where Cal was holding back the Genkos.

"What were those things?" Barrett asked as Cid shut the door. He looked back to make sure Marlene was alright while Tifa jumped in the passenger front seat.

"Will she be alright?"

"She'll be fine." Dax pulled the handbrake up and the jeep jumped into life, the cage around the vehicle slamming into reptiles left, right and centre as it screeched away.

"Cloud!" She screamed. Dax chuckled grimly.

"He'll be fine too, from what we've found out about him." He glanced out the side mirror to see Bern keeping up easily with the fast pace and then looked behind, hoping his comment proved right.

* * *

**Please post a comment for me. I would like to know if you find this interesting and whether or not I should continue posting this up here. The whole story is finished but I don't see the point in adding the rest of it if no one is reading.**

**Hopefully everyone understands this :)**


	6. 6

Cloud turned as he sensed someone near him, slicing through the necks of attacking enemies to see the woman sweeping through a load more.

"_Get going!_" Her mouth moved through the noise but he heard her voice clearly in his ear. Cal hissed under her breath as he shook his head at her, "_Don't be a hero! Besides, my lift is coming!_" She jumped backwards from claws and jerked her head up, making him glance upwards to see another smaller vehicle descending from the ship. He swiped his sword through another row of Genko and then staggered slightly when someone pushed into him. "Move already Strife!"

The small land cruiser landed as Cal shoved Cloud in the direction of his bike, letting loose another pulse of Gravity and jumping on the back as Tala swung the vehicle round. A roaring noise in her ears made her turn to see Cloud drawing level with them. Their eyes found each other for a second before a scream made them turn to look ahead.

oOo

The jeep made a hard turn right to narrowly avoid the giant mechanical machine, the lasers whipping past and shattering the side mirror as Dax swore.

"Damn it!" Barrett yelled, aiming his canon arm out the window and firing.

"A battle droid!" Dax spun the wheel to avoid getting crushed by its feet as it started loping after them. "Cal, any time will be good for me!"

"I'm working as fast as I can Dax." She called back in her ear piece, her purple eyes seeming to glow. "The weak points are the joints where the arms and legs connect!"

"_What materia?_"

"Lightning will be brilliant but we haven't got any!" She raised her eyebrows as Cloud turned his bike round, racing backwards as his sword pulsed with purple energy. "Ok, I stand corrected!"

"Cal, take over!" Tala shouted, jumping in the air. She slid down to the controls as the silver fox landed gracefully on the back. She narrowed her icy blue eyes and lifted her arm towards the machine. Blue light streamed round her and forced itself into the android, ice shards forming around one of the gun joints. "Whenever you're ready!" She looked to Cloud. He nodded and unleashed another wave of Lightning at the spot where Tala had created. With a great creaking noise the gun arm fell off, the other one falling off a few minutes later with Vincent and Barrett's concentrated attacks.

"Get ready!" Dax warned as the front of it opened up to expose an energy blaster. Now free of the heavy guns the machine was picking up speed and Tala held on as the cruiser screeched right, Cal revving the throttle and stamping her feet down on the pedals to come away from underneath it. Bern jumped up and turned in mid air, his Earth materia directed at the ground to try and make the machine stumble. It did for a while, the limb it had intended to crush the cruiser with waving in the air as they moved clear.

"_I haven't got much magic left!_"

"Don't worry Bern, I have an idea!" Tala gripped her shoulder as both Dax and Piper yelled in her ear.

"_Cal, don't even think about it!_"

"_It's too risky!_"

Cloud glanced at the woman, wondering what she was planning to do.

"Don't worry Captain, I'll be fine."

"_I'm giving you an order Caluna!_"

"Yeah well, this time I'm ignoring you. Tala, take over!"

"Are you sure?"

"This is the only chance we have! Everyone's running out of ammunition and magic!" She stood up and jumped as Tala moved back to the front, landing in a crouch on the back facing the android.

The magic swam up her body as she closed her eyes, letting it engulf her and tried ignoring the stabs of pain that started crawling through her chest.

Cloud moved Fenrir closer to the cruiser, his eyes frowning as Cal got enclosed by a blue aura.

"_Make sure she doesn't fall off SOLIDER!_" Dax shouted in his ear as Tala looked sideways at him, her gaze hard.

"What's happening?" Tifa asked as they watched from the jeep.

"Ion's what's happening."

"What the hell is Ion?" Dax pointed to the sky in answer to Cid's query as a fluting cry reverberated through the air.

oOo

The huge bird-like creature plummeted through the clouds, opening its wings at the last second and sending a shock wave down to the machine. It jolted slightly, the energy blaster turning upwards to fire a fat bolt of plasma at the deity. The creature wheeled away and flapped its wings again, each time making the machine shudder and fall back.

A whimper in his ears made Cloud look back to where Cal was holding on, her other hand clutching her chest with pain etched across her features.

"_Hold on Red!_"

The winged creature threw back its head as a white energy pulse gathered round its beck, the beam hitting the machine in the chest and piercing a hole straight through it. Cal screamed as the pain of the summons became too much and slumped over the back unconscious, Ion arching its back with an echoing cry before fading away.

Cloud moved his bike in quickly, catching her falling form while Tala's claws groped for her. She was out cold, beads of sweat dotting her forehead from concentration. Behind them the android shook, one foot trying to move its body before toppling over in a mangled pile of metal.

He slowed down and then stopped, taking another look at the woman in his arms. She seemed so familiar...

The jeep skidded to a halt as Dax jumped out, him and Bern running over to where she was being held. "Cal!" Bern held out his shovel sized hands, "I will take her now." Cloud handed her over and the big man took her tenderly.

"Is she ok?"

"She sleeps Dax, she is alright."

"_Bring her to the ship, I'll make sure._" Piper's voice had lost its usual chirpiness and the ship landed to one side of them. "_You'd best bring your band in as well SOLIDER, there'll be more Genkos coming soon._"

Cloud frowned at the ugly label they seemed to have branded him with but wheeled Fenrir into the hanger. With a smooth whoosh, the doors closed. "_Better stay where you are for the moment, it's a little bumpy until we get into the clouds and level out._" Barrett swore as he cracked his head on the top of the jeep. "You'd think they'd check out the stabilisers on this thing...what's with you?" Cid's eyes were bugging out of his head in excitement, "We're in a blasted hanger!"

"We're on the _actual_ ship of the pirates! People would give their left arm to get a glimpse of this!"

"You...urgh!" The man grunted again as the ship rocked.

"_Ok, bring them onto the main deck Dax. Bern, get Cal comfortable in her quarters._"

"Yes Captain." They muttered moving out of the vehicles. The blue haired man pressed a few buttons and the hanger door opened silently, letting Bern out before gesturing the others to follow him.

Tifa moved towards him while they walked along the corridor. "Will she be ok?"

"Hopefully."

"She is tough." Tala supplemented. Dax's face was strained, "She'll be fine."

"I thought all the Summon materia had disappeared." Vincent mused looking round. They had walked into a large open area, the walls curved outwards slightly with one completely filled with glass to let them look out onto the dark sky.

"Well now it seems you are mistaken." Tala's eyes slid to Denzel for a second before turning to gaze nonplussed at the canon being levelled at her.

"I would appreciate you not firing in my ship if you can help it." The slim tanned woman walked into the room, Dax and Tala both standing easily to attention. "You want an explanation I take it?"

"It would be nice." Cloud said quietly. She nodded to him.

"Fair enough, but first things first. We need to test the boy."

"Why?" Tifa stood in front of Denzel as he stared at the woman.

"At the minute the Genko assume that he is one of my crews' offspring. This is not the case but it could be because he also bears the capability to summon monsters. To them this ability is rare and so they feel that it must be passed down the family tree."

Barrett moved forward and pointed at her. "We can handle those scaly lizards!"

"I doubt that you understand what is happening! We have fought the Genko for years and still haven't managed to make a dent in their population!" She growled back, her eyes fierce as she glared at him. With an effort she calmed herself down, seeing Dax and Tala tense up beside her. "We do the tests. With any luck we'll find that he is unable to be a Summoner and with Cal being the only one on this planet we can lead them away."

"Why would a Space Pirate wanna help us?"

"We don't need to explain ourselves to the likes of you." Dax drawled. The silver fox creature flicked her hand out, a load of small ball bearings scattering onto the floor and encasing them in a cloud of smoke.

Coughing and spluttering they looked back up to see that they were surrounded by the same purple haze as the one on the ship.

"Denzel!" Cloud frowned seeing the boy in the grasp of the Captain. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Run tests." The boy squirmed in her hold but she tightened her grip, making him wince slightly as fingers stronger than steel pinned against his shoulder.

"You have no right to do this!"

"Like we told you on the liner, we aren't bound by rights and rules." Tala glared at Tifa. "We're pirates." Dax finished, "what fun would that be if we had to obey the law all the time?"

"Keep an eye on them." Piper walked out of the main deck, ignoring their shouts and towed the boy down the corridor.

oOo

oOo

The Genkos milled about unhappily while a figure watched the battle unfold from a small screen on his desk. "This doesn't make me happy."

"We tried everything to get the boy. It ssseemsss the Sssspace Piratesss have help."

"From retired fighters. You should have been able to beat them easily!" The scout cowered as the man got his temper under control. "It seemed that the battle droid wasn't enough to finish them off either though."

"We will assess the damage and begin making modifications immediately Sir." An elderly man in a blue uniform bowed as the man waved him away, turning back to the scout.

"Have you placed a new Commander yet?"

"Debatesss are sssstill ongoing."

"Make it quick. I can't keep meeting you like this when I have work elsewhere to complete." He got up and moved over to the window, looking out at the city below. "I don't want people figuring out I'm helping you."

"That won't be a problem, we are dissscreet."

Red eyes bored into it as the man turned round. "And what of our other, arrangement?"

"We are expanding our sssearchesss to the other extinct volcanoessss around the planet. Otherssss are ssstill ssssearching the place where the head wasss found lassst."

"Good. If you find anything you will tell me immediately."

oOo

oOo

Cid scrubbed his face with his hand and looked around while Barrett shook his head. Cloud looked at Dax to see him glowering at him.

"Don't get used to that comlink SOLIDER, we want it back."

He half turned away. "I'm not part of SOLIDER anymore..."

Dax snorted and shifted his weight onto another foot, "Yeah right."

"_Dax, cut it out. He can keep the link for now._"

"But Captain..." He sighed and dropped his hand, moving over to stand by the window.

"Excuse me..." Tala looked down and stared at Marlene who was standing behind Barrett. "...What are you?"

"I am a Falernan; your kind calls me a hybrid fox though I look nothing like the common vermin that creep around your town."

"Do you live here?"

"On the ship? Yes."

"Oh..." Marlene trailed off and looked at the ground. The creature was beautiful; she'd never seen anything so breathtaking in her life. Tala sensed she was being watched again and looked back down. "I cannot talk to you equally if you are forever cowering behind your protector."

Barrett ground his teeth. "Marlene, don't bother talking to these scum."

"I'm not afraid of you." She stuck out her chin and moved aside, facing the creature down as bravely as she could.

Tala smiled, showing pearly canines, "You show true courage in front of your enemies. As long as you do not stray from an honourable path..." She glared at Cid, "you think something is funny?"

"How can you preach about an honourable path when you're a pirate? It's laughable!"

"I always fight with honour. I have never killed in cold blood."

He snorted, "Shame about the rest of you..."

"Cal is different." Tala's eyes looked down slightly, "she has...demons..."

"Tala..." Dax muttered through his teeth, making her shut up. Cloud looked up; that was something he could relate to.


	7. 7

"Let me go!" Denzel struggled in her grip as they walked into a brightly lit room. He'd tried to push away from her and even kick her, but all that resulted in was a sharp pain that lanced up the side of his leg. The woman seemed to have metal armour covering her entire body.

"This will help you get rid of the Genko." She pushed him inside and he stumbled against something warm that steadied his tumble. "Isn't that what you want?"

He looked up into deep purple eyes and swallowed, moving away from the red haired woman as she leant backwards. For an instant he saw the gleam of gold around her neck before it disappeared.

"We can fight them." He muttered harshly, his eyes turning to look at the Captain who stood there with her hands folded. She appeared to be enjoying herself.

"Really? What skills have you got? Any weapons training, any knowledge of the enemy? No, none of your group has." The other woman led him to a metal table that was bolted to the floor and he backed into her, his breathing starting to increase. "But you might have the upper hand we're hoping for."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever used materia before?" Cal asked him. He stared at her and shook his head, "Did you have the GeoStigma?"

"Yes...why?"

"The Genko have slight trouble in recognising small variations, like on the ship. Materia is made from the life stream and the planet was able to get rid of the GeoStigma that was killing your body by placing more energy into you. This is what the Genko mistake for summoning ability."

"But there were lots of us with the GeoStigma. Cloud had it too."

"They would have gone after the easier target." Piper stated as he turned back to her. He yelped as her arm lengthened and coiled out of her coat, whipping round his body and placing him on the table.

"No..."

"It'll be ok." Cal tried to reassure him as he struggled. "You just need to relax..."

Something landed on the table next to him and he jumped when he felt fur move across his leg. Pale grey eyes surrounded by black stared down at him from within the depths of dark fur and his eyelids started to flutter closed as warm scented breath washed over him.

oOo

They looked up as Piper entered back into the room, Tifa moving closer to the barrier. "Where is he?"

"He's resting at the moment."

"So it's true." She looked at Cloud and saw he was still wearing the link she'd given him. The tiny light at the side was green, meaning he'd heard everything they'd said. "What does this mean?"

"It means he'll be hunted down by the Genko for as long as he lives." Tala supplied.

"Unless you help us." Dax added.

Barrett grunted. "Do we have a choice?"

"Everyone has a choice; you just have to make the right one."

"Dax..." Piper shook her head to stop him from rattling them further. Cid jerked his thumb at the force field. "Think we can have a civilised conversation without the death haze Captain?"

"You don't trust me, why should I trust you?" She smiled craftily at him.

"Would our word be enough?"

"The word of a SOLIDER is worth nothing." Dax snorted, folding his arms. Cloud narrowed his eyes at the man.

"But it will have to do for now, besides, if any of them try anything we still have the boy." They turned to look at Piper as she leant against a raised wall that rested near the back of the room and licked her lips. She nodded to Tala who moved over to another part of the wall and pressed something.

Tifa laid a hand on Barrett as he raised his gun. "We have to trust them."

"For now at least." He lowered his arm and grimaced.

Vincent stepped forward and looked to Piper. "What are the Genko?"

"The Genkos are an advanced reptilian race from where I was created," She waved away Cid's hissed comment about being 'created' and carried on, "they are destroyers of planets, they see what is the most dominant form of life and take it over before sucking the planet dry of all its resources and energy. Then they move onto the next planet in the system.

"One of them is yours. We were already here when they broke through five years ago but we managed to get rid of them and close up the trail...or at least I thought I had."

"Our ship leaves a faint signature when we move through space called a plasma trail." Tala took over as Piper rubbed her eyes, "These trails can take years to fade away."

"The Genko saw the life stream and the materia as the predominant life form on this planet; therefore they want something that can manipulate the energy into its most powerful shape."

"A Summoner." Vincent stated while Tifa bit her lip, "So they want Denzel or, or...Cal?"

"At the time no, there was another..."

"Her..." They turned to look at Cloud who was staring at the floor. He looked back up, his eyes burning. "What would they have done with her?"

"I don't know..."

"Tell me!" Piper jumped at his forceful command and Tifa put a gentle hand on his arm. "Cloud, maybe they don't know, maybe its better that we don't know."

"So many can summon a creature," Vincent said, "it is the actual materia that is hard to find."

"Cal is a materia expert, she can find any type of materia, she can sense if it's been used and how much energy it contains." Piper explained, "because of this its pretty easy for her to find summon materia.

"There's no point in taking you home," she went on, "the Genko will be staking out your place for a while."

"What's your plan then?"

She fixed Barrett with a dazzling smile. "You'll be coming with us to Murun."

There was an explosion of noise from all sides as Dax rolled his eyes, casting them to the ceiling while Tala shook her head. "That is too risky Captain."

"_Are you sure about that Captain?_" Even Bern sounded uncertain.

"We can take care of anything that those lizards throw at us!" Barrett growled, "Right Spiky?" He turned to see Cloud looking pensive. "Back me up here."

"If it's safer for Denzel and Marlene we should go with them."

"Tifa-"

"Barrett come on, you saw what they're capable of back there. And we won't be staying for long, right?" She added, looking at Piper who nodded.

"I agree with Tifa." Cloud said at last looking up.

"If it means I can have a gander of the ship I'm in." Cid grinned. Vincent shrugged his shoulders.

Barrett let out a breath and grunted. "Fine, but that doesn't mean I trust any one of you."

"Likewise." Tala smiled revealing her sharp teeth.

"I still want to know if Denzel is alright." Tifa demanded.

oOo

He opened his eyes to see purple ones staring down at him. They crinkled slightly at the edges as Cal smiled. "Morning. How do you feel?"

"A little groggy." He tested out his limbs and found there was no pain. "What did you do?"

"We ran some tests to see what made you tick." She tilted her head and her expression became sadder. "I'm afraid me and you are a dying breed."

"You mean I'm like you? A Summoner?"

"You have the ability, just like a lot of people but it is stronger inside you."

Denzel sat up and looked at his hands. "That means those things will keep coming after me."

"Yes but they've been after me for a while and I'm still standing." She put a hand on his shoulders, "Plus it seems you have some strong protection going on around you."

"I don't want to get them into danger..."

Cal chuckled. "From what I've heard it follows them around." She half turned as if listening to something in her ear and then pressed a button; the red light turning green. "He's woken up Captain...ok...gotcha Captain. Ready to re-join the ranks?"

She helped him down from the table as he nodded and led the way out. "I'm sorry we had to do that to you Denzel." He looked up at her as they walked, "but it was the only way we could be certain."

"What about asking?"

"Even if pirates asked no one would listen to us. People have the old age fear of us being brash and never playing attention to the rules; they made us what we are."

oOo

Dax saluted her when they walked in, ignoring the others that were milling around as Denzel ran over to them. "Denzel, are you ok?" Tifa checked him over as Cloud watched the woman walk over to Tala.

"Ok, let's get going." Piper rubbed her hands together, "Cal, bring up the plans and plot a route for me."

"Yes Captain."

"The rest of you, feel free to browse round the ship at your leisure but don't be put out if none of the doors open for you." She smiled sweetly and walked out while a section of the floor rose upwards in front of Cal and slanted towards her. She pressed something on the comlink and a band of fluorescent green arched round the back of her head, the front becoming a translucent eye mask of a similar colour.

"Wow..." She noticed Cid had moved up against her. "That is something..."

"You have no idea have you?" She pressed a button on the piece in front of her and in her vision a map fazed into being and hung there.

Cid scratched his head as she appeared to be tapping the air. "Ok, so I have no idea. What are you doing?" Cloud took off the link he was wearing and looked at it. On the side were two buttons. One, he pressed and the little green light on the side went red. The other...

"Plotting a course."

"But I can't see a damn thing." Her eyes glinted at him and there was the faint suggestion of a grin.

"Exactly."

"I can see it." He turned to look at Cloud and his mouth hung open.

"How in blazes did you do that?!"

"The comlink."

"Be a sport and hand it over hey Cloud?"

"This is their ship Cid." He pressed the button the make the visor disappear, "There will be things they don't want us to see or know."

"You're ruining my day here..."

_**I promise to let you play with the comlinks later Cid.**_ Piper's chirpy voice filtered through and made them all look around.

"Can she hear everything we're saying?"

"Every single word." Dax grinned at Cid who put a hand behind his head, "Better not be rude then hey?"

"Course plotted Captain."

_**I have it now. **_The ship pivoted round as the floor sunk back down. _**Better hold onto something until we've reached the proper momentum.**_

"What the hell does that mean?" Barrett grunted as the ship started picking up speed.

"It means 'grab onto a railing before your head goes through the window'!" Dax crowed as Tifa came sliding past him. He grabbed hold her waist and pulled her closer. "Why don't you stay with me for a while darlin'?"

"I'd rather not." He shrugged as she pushed at him, letting her go and watching her eyes widen as she scrabbled for a hold.

"Are you sure? Plenty of room here." He patted the railing he was holding as she resigned to him and held out her hand. "See, safe and sound."

Cal slid to the wall and tapped it a few times, seeing small hollows appear out of the floor.

"What are they?"

"Think of them as chairs." She advised Cid as Barrett cautiously settled onto one, pulling Marlene onto his knee. Cloud ushered Denzel down, his eyes settling on Tifa and Dax for a second before looking away. Tala took another seat as Bern stood where he was, the G-force appearing to have no effect on him at all.

oOo

**_Ok, we're levelling off now_**. Piper called after ten minutes. Cal felt the force pushing into her subside and moved away from the wall, bringing up the screen again from the floor and making sure everything was ok.

"Can you let go of me now?" Tifa glared at Dax who grinned, holding his hands up and watched her storm off.

"Damn it..."

"You're going to be a home wrecker Dax." Tala observed as he sidled up to where she was standing with Cal.

He snorted. "She's not with any of the guys."

"My money is on Strife."

"What? No way Cal."

"Have you seen the way she looks at him?"

"Have you seen the way he _doesn't_ look at her? Come off it, as far as I can see she's free and most definitely single."

"I hope you have metal in your ass as that man is gonna whoop your butt if you try anything."

"Ha!" Dax put an arm up and flexed the muscle, "I can take him."

"Let me know when you're going to try, I don't want to miss watching him destroy you." Tala muttered before swaying off.


	8. 8

The group looked out the viewer to see greenery as far as the eye could see. The island of Murun stretched out in front of them as the fighter ship flew low and Marlene gasped as she saw a herd of yellow ostrich-like birds running over the fields.  
"Look, Chocobo!"  
The pale impression of mountains loomed in the distance, barely visible behind the clouds that sat around their craggy middles. The colour started creeping through the closer they got; the dark grey of the tree line became richer, the greens flowing through like a giant paintbrush was running ahead of the ship to fill in the details. The ship moved over where a massive lake not fed from the surrounding sea lay and sped effortlessly just above the surface.  
Cid whistled. "I wish the _Shera_ could pull these tricks."  
_**Coming in for the landing. I'd sit down if I were you.**_  
"Where in blazes is she going to dock? There's no-whoa!" Cid fell backwards as the water came rushing up to meet them, the ship diving underneath the calm surface.  
"What's that noise?" Denzel asked as a mechanical whirring started around the sides.  
"The ship is altering shape so that we glide easier under the water." Tala stated. Cid ran a hand over the hair on the back of his neck.  
"It flies, floats _and_ swims? Man, I've gotta get me one of these!"  
"These are all the Captain's modifications." Dax settled back and put his feet up on an empty chair. Cloud looked at him and then turned round, realising that one of the pirates were missing from the main deck. Bern had hunkered down against one of the sides, sitting quite comfortably. He'd come up from the engine room when the Captain had informed him of their arrival to Murun but Cal had disappeared.

Various aquatic creatures swam by the vessel; some with more eyes than body to support them while other lithe finned creations floated by the viewing window, their cries hauntingly beautiful. The ship passed by a rocky formation and circled round until the opening loomed ahead of them, zipping through the darkness and passing from water to air in one motion as it exited an extinct volcano. They caught a glimpse of dwellings nestled in the valleys of the mountain before the ground came up to them; the ship landing softly on the reddish earth.  
"Ok." The pirates stood up as Piper entered and looked around. "Some ground rules; this place is a well kept secret. The Genko do not know it exists so the people live quite peacefully here. There are only a few people that know its exact location and unfortunately you lot aren't one of them. Pirates!" She raised her voice to her crew, not bothering to shout for Cal. The girl didn't like being with a lot of strangers or any people full stop for that matter. She would come out when she was ready to leave. "We are on short notice leave. You are now allowed to visit your sick grandmothers and attend birthday parties without fear of me shouting orders in your greasy lugholes!"  
"_Aye aye Captain!"_ They cheered as one.  
"Now clear out coz I'm sick of looking at you all!"  
Barrett narrowed his eyes and grunted while the others shared a glance. Cid grinned, "Now that's proper nautical slang folks."

oOo

"This place is unbelievable..." Tifa whispered as she shaded her eyes against the suns rays. Denzel and Marlene gasped looking around.  
"Everything's so green..." Cloud's gloved hand fingered the leaves of a fern and watched dew drops of the early morning mist sprinkle the ground.  
"Welcome to our home." They turned to see a group of people on Chocobo watching them, spears and bows in their hands. A man in his late thirties wearing goggles around his neck jumped off a pale green bird and moved to greet them. "Don't think badly of us because of the weaponry, we were in the middle of hunting when the ship came in."  
"Mikale!" Dax saluted the dark haired man and enveloped his hand warmly, "How're things?"  
"Not too bad, not too bad. Better for seeing you all safe and sound." His warm eyes roved over the new people and they noticed his eyes were the same colour as Cal's. "I see you've brought us a few visitors."  
"Everything will be explained in time. Firstly we need to eat, I'm starving!"  
The jeep came off from the hanger of the ship, expertly handled by Tala. He looked around and frowned, turning back and lowering his voice. "Where is she Dax?"  
"Still on the ship, we had a run-in with the Genko and some sort of machine droid."  
"What?"  
Dax put a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine Mikale after some rest."  
The man scrubbed his face with his hands and then turned to see the group getting into the jeep. He gestured to his Chocobo and the pale green creature came forward, its reins hanging down from its beak and the saddle dusty from riding in the sands. "I'll stay here, when you get to the house send Voronwer to me; she'll need a ride back."  
"No worries Mikale." He nodded and trotted to the jeep, hanging off the side of it and noticed Cloud look to his bike. "You won't need that here trust me, it's better to ride by Chocobo."  
He got into the jeep with a glance at the man and settled himself down as Tala took off down the slope, Bern and the rest of the riders following behind.

"_Cal?"_ Her hand clenched on the bed sheets as the other clutched at her heart, bending over from the throbbing pain that was hammering in her chest. _"Cal, is everything alright?"_  
"Yes." She managed to say. Beads of sweat trickled down her face and she tried to get her breathing under control. "I'll be out...in a minute."  
Piper frowned, _"If you're sure..."_  
She heard her walk off and groaned. She'd made sure her link had been turned off throughout the landing when the palpitations had struck; one moan out of her and they would have all come running.  
"Urgh...n-ngh...ngh..." Her eyes squeezed shut as a moan escaped through her clenched teeth. All she had to do was wait it out...

After a few minutes she felt the pressure on her heart start to release and she opened her eyes panting with fatigue. They were getting worse; the pain was always there when she fought, she could feel it clinging to her bones but it escalated when she used summon materia.  
All because of the experiments they did on her in the prison, and all the test drugs they injected her with...

She breathed for a few seconds before trying to stand up; her legs wobbling until she'd mastered a few steps and then went to go out. She stopped at the door though, her eyes going to the materia that was on the cupboard by her bed.

The house was modest enough; a dry bracken floor with plain wooden walls; holes cut out of them to serve as windows. Tub seats made out of bark and tree trunks were scattered around with decorative plump cushions and throws, and a massive oak table stood in the centre of the room surrounded by benches.  
"This is our eating area; it's all communal since there aren't that many of us." Their guide pointed out of the main dwelling to where smaller places were dotted around it. "They are the living quarters with facilities round the back of each one."  
"You live like this all year round?" He looked at Tifa and nodded.  
"It's not a hard life and we're pretty well off compared with the cities. There's no industrial noise, no pollution. We're in a balance with the land here, give and take so there's no starvation either."  
"What about medication?"  
"We bring anything they need." Piper leant against the doorway. "We may be pirates, but we're not blood thirsty."  
"Are you all buccaneers?"  
"They aren't Cid; they're just people that have no homes in the old world."  
"The Captain rescued us when the war against AVALANCHE and Shinra broke out," the man held his hands out, "our homes were destroyed and there was nowhere else we could go." He smiled suddenly. "So we made our new home here, away from the wars and devastation."  
"We can fight if it comes to that though." Another man pointed out, "we'll protect our home from the likes of war-scheming mongrels!"

"You may be able to fight, but you haven't been able to catch anything for lunch have you?" A stern voice made them turn around and the men started to shift their feet and look at the floor. A woman heavily pregnant stalked up to them. "How am I going to feed you all hmm?"  
"_The ship came in while we are out hunting Molly..."_  
"_Yeah Molly, we were going to go back and get something..."_  
They shied away from her as she gestured with the heavy metal ladle she was holding. "Make sure you do otherwise you lot will going hungry tonight! Piper," She added, her voice becoming warmer, "it's good to see you."  
"You too Molly. I see you have your hands full looking after this lot."  
"At least I'll have plenty of practice for when this one comes out." She stroked her belly and then realised the men were still there. "What are you all standing around for?" she bellowed, "Scram!" The men jumped at her scolding and moved backwards away from the waving ladle.  
"_We're going Molly, honest!"_  
"Honestly, they are worse than the children." She brushed a curly strand of red hair from her eyes and turned to the group. "It is nice to have you here. Please come and sit down." She motioned to the chairs and benches while a few other women placed cups on the table. "This is_ drana_; hopefully you'll find it soothing."  
They reached out and took a cup, inhaling the sweet spicy scent.  
"It smells lovely." Tifa smiled.  
"We make it from the flowers here." Molly explained, "Most of the plant life seems to have medicinal and suppressant qualities. Mikale hasn't once needed a cigarette since he tried it. You must be hungry, come and eat something." She looked to Denzel and Marlene and smiled as they gratefully took some pastries from the offered plate.  
"Where's that loose canon of yours Captain?" Cid asked after a while, looking around.  
"Cal will be around; she'll more than likely be hunting with the others." Molly grinned as Piper pursed her lips together. "No doubt she'll be permanently attached to Voronwer until you leave."  
"Voron...?"  
"Voronwer, he's the main male chocobo we have in the fields."

Cloud looked into the earthen cup in his hands as Molly's eyes roved over them. They were a strange bunch alright, so many differing personalities. Her brother often mentioned the acquaintances he 'hung out' with, or more likely, 'blew things up' with. They were as he'd described them.  
"Chocobos are important here then."  
"Yes." She looked at Tifa who was sipping from her cup, "everything revolves around them. They give us transport; help us in our hunting and foraging. Their feathers give us warmth and they use their natural ability to keep away predators from our children." She shook her head," we wouldn't survive without them."  
A chorus of yells erupted outside and Piper grinned. "Looks like our missing pirate has finally decided to join us."

Cal found herself surrounded by the village children as they jumped up and down waving their hands at her. She was glad; their smiles and pleasure in seeing her made her feel happy. It didn't happen often since the past and she tried to hold onto the feeling for as long as she could.  
"_Cal!"_  
"_Cal, you're back!"_  
"_Cal!"_

They walked outside to see the children floating round her in the air, screaming with delight as the materia in her outstretched arms glowed blue. Dax shook his head. "Show off!"  
She turned to him and raised an eyebrow as the children floated back down, tugging at her arms and laughing.  
"_Again, do it again Cal!"_  
"_I wanna fly again!"_  
"Dax has chocolate." She turned to them, a wicked glint in her eyes. Dax's mocking face turned to shock as the children scrambled towards him.  
"Hey wait no! Ack!" He went down in a sea of limbs. Barrett turned to Molly.  
"These all your kids?"  
"They are now. They were orphans of the calamity and the wars. Piper and her crew rescued as many as they could, which is why we have more youngsters than adults here."  
"They have no parents?" Marlene asked as Denzel watched the kids pile onto Dax. He'd never seen the pirate ship when he'd been an orphan and no one had ever spoken about them. He wondered if they'd ever been round Midgar.  
Molly shook her head, her expression sad while Mikale got off his chocobo. "We're their parents now. We all chip in where we can."

One of the girls turned to Cal, her pigtails swinging round. "Where are they Cal?"  
"They're around." She said smiling. The girl turned to look at the black chocobo standing behind the pirate.  
"Have you seen them Voronwer?" It brought its head over her shoulder and gave an answering call. Cal moved forward and went into the leather bag she was carrying, pulling out a materia orb.  
"Here. Why don't you call them?"  
The girl giggled and took the orb, holding it high above her head and shouted at the forest that surrounded them. "Tekken, Drakes!" The other kids took up the call and Dax came up for air puffing.  
"I'm getting too old for this..."  
"Who are they calling?" Tifa asked. Tala folded her arms, her fur swirling in the breeze.  
"You'll see." A yowl echoed round the valley and the children cheered.  
"_Tekken!"_  
"_Drakes!"_

"Err..." Barrett took a step back as a flock of birds burst from the trees and Marlene gripped his hand as two dark blurs erupted from the forest, coming closer and starting to resemble two big cats. Vincent's eyes widened slightly as they pirouetted and jumped round the children.  
"You have Kitots here?"  
"No. They're from another part of the planet." Mikale said.  
"What are they?" Cloud asked as Cid scratched his head.  
"Kitots are creatures that live exclusively off materia and they are the only animal on the planet known to do so. Because of their diet they can manifest the energy and use its power in attacks."  
"You know a lot about them Vincent." The man turned to Cloud, the lower parts of his face hidden by his cloak.  
"When you travel around you pick up things...it is interesting seeing them so healthy."  
"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.  
"Kitots in captivity normally lose their colouration and markings; they tend to pine for open spaces." Cal explained. "These two can come and go as they please so they aren't tied to us."

The girl threw the materia in the air and one of them jumped high over it, snapping its jaws around the orb as it landed back down. Cal took out some more and let the children have them then watched as they ran off with the Kitots trailing after.

**(I'll try and post the next part next week. Pls bear with me if I don't manage to)**


End file.
